Gen 1: Mary Jane Beal - Court Record for James Henry

What are the origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl?

We continued our Biehl research project with the end goal of identifying the German origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl. I continued research on the first generation, which is Mary Jane Beal. You can find that post here.

 

Court Records

 

Last week we identified at least one tract of land that James Henry purchased from the Federal Government, but there were additional tracts that we were not sure were for our James Henry or for another same-name individual. I decided to try FamilySearch’s full-text search, which is a game changer for researchers. Elizabeth Shown Mills had discussed the need on many occasions of reading the records page-by-page. This may still be necessary, but this full-text search can help locate some of those items quicker.

To try it out, I decided to search for James Henry, and I located a 14 January 1850 court record that discussed the West Fork Road, which named both James Henry and his likely father-in-law Peter Beal. They were numerated adjacent to each other in the 1850 census that was taken in June. Below is the transcription:

“[page] 86

January 14^th 1850

And now on this day came the commissioners appointed at the last term of this court to view and mark out a portion of the West Fork road and made their report which ^is in words and figures as follows Towit In obedience to an order to us directed we William H Campbell John Robinson and Ewin P Craig Commissioners appointed by the county court of Washington County to view and mark a portion of the West Fork road after being duly sworn as the law directs commencing near the house of Nathan Caughmans on the land of Alfred Caughmans thence about one quarter of a mile to the land of Conrod Yous then over the land of said Conrod Yous about one quarter of a mile then over vacant land then over the land of James Henry about one mile then over vacant land then over the land of Peter Beal about one mile course about north east generally making about four miles then over vacant land then over the land of William D Shons about half a mile then over the land of Joseph Webb about half mile then over the land of Quiller Hutchins one half mile then over vacant land then over the land of Anderson Hutchens half mile to the house of Anderson Hutchens from Peter Beals to Anderson Hutchens about four miles course about North West withe [sic] undersigned reviewers believe that the public convinience [sic] will be much benefited by the above road being continued and kept in repair and we also deem it of public utility.”[1]

 

We’ll be continuing research on James Henry until we have completed reasonably exhaustive research on him, but using this full-text search is another tool in our toolbox that can help us research more efficiently and locate some great finds!

 

Future Research

 

Future research will include:

 

·      Search for additional marriage records for James Henry. He married Alphurnia Peerson in 1894.

·      Continue search for all real estate, both local and Federal, that James Henry owned in Washington County, Arkansas. He owned $300 in 1850 and $1,000 in 1870. Start a table showing the land transactions, both in and out, to ensure all transactions are captured.

·      Find maps for the time and place.

·      Determine if there are records for Friendship Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas. Determine if there are extant records for First Baptist Church of Springdale.

·      Locate the extant applicable agricultural censuses for Arkansas.

·      Identify all of James Henry’s ten children.

·      James Henry served in the Mexican War and his widow, Alphurnia, received a pension. He may have had a pension too since he was feeble and helpless prior to his death. His tombstone notes his service from 1847–1848 in the Ark. Mounted Inf. Vol.

·      Who were the parents of Harvey Webb, nephew, in 1880?

·      Was Luke Henry in 1900 the stepson of James Henry?

 

Next up: Continuing the research on Mary Jane Henry and her husband, James, as noted in “Future Research” above.

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[1] Washington County, Arkansas, Court Records, 1835–1878, vol. C, 1848–1856, pp. 86–7, entry for West Fork Road, 14 January 1850; image 71 of 644, DGS no. 7,899,278, item 1, FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Emphasis added.

Hotels in Germany

From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

 

This series of posts, continued from last week, outlines our preparation for a German trip to research beyond church records. Before embarking on a research trip abroad, you want to make sure you’ve done your homework. The next step, outlined in this post, is booking hotels.

 

Hotels

 

When planning your trip to Germany, once your schedule is planned for the archives where you will be researching, next is to determine where you will be staying and booking those hotels.

 

Identifying hotels includes prioritizing locations near the archives. Next week we will cover whether to rent a car or use the train. If you will be using public transportation, you will want to prioritize locations near public transport. Using public transport such as the S-Bahn or U-Bahn will ensure you avoid parking fees and traffic, especially when staying in cities.

 

There are differences between hotels in Germany and the United States. Air conditioning is rare in older hotels and hotels in smaller towns. Depending on the time of year of your visit, that may be a consideration. Free Wi-Fi may or may not be available. Older hotels may also not have an elevator. On our last trip, we had two hotels where we had to pull our suitcase up a flight of stairs or two. One hotel we stayed at had an elevator that stopped between floors, so you still had a small flight of stairs to mount before getting to your room.

 

Room set-ups are different in Germany. If you need two separate beds, pay attention to the options offered. A Doppelzimmer (double room) means two people will be in the room. It does not equate to two separate beds. A double bed typically means two separate mattresses in one frame. When travelling with a friend or colleague, see if a Zweibettzimmer (2-bed room) is available. An Einzelzimmer (single room) is a room for one person. And bedding does not include a flat sheet, only a comforter. Hotel rooms may be smaller, including bathrooms and showers, especially in older hotels. 

A trend that is evident in both hotels in America and Germany is the move to wall-mounted shower gel that is supposed to also be used as shampoo. This is an effort to reduce single-use plastics. Some hotels offer shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel, but most of the time we only found shower gel and conditioner. The hotels that we stayed in all provided hair dryers. Remember that if you use curling irons or other heating devices, you need a special electric converter. If you don’t have the right converter, you will have a problem, such as burning up the converter!

Speaking of electricity, most hotels require that you use your room card to turn on the electricity. Typically, it was a card slot where you put your room key when you enter the room.

 

German hotels usually include breakfast (mit Frühstück), or one is available for an additional fee. Breakfast usually consists of different types of food options than what you find in America, such as meat, cheese, and a variety of bread. Sometimes eggs are included, but not necessarily bacon, potatoes, or oatmeal. American chain hotels, such as a Hilton, offer more of a typical American experience.

 

Hotels may or may not have parking available. Some have very limited parking and the spots may be small … very small. We had to climb out the back of the car when we parked at one hotel.

One thing that surprised me with hotels in Germany was that the rooms had working windows. That is something that you don’t find in America.

 

If you are memorializing your trip in photos, don’t forget to take them as soon as you enter your room as that is the best that it will look!

 

Next week we’ll talk about renting a car or taking a train.